DarkTwine
by Lysana
Summary: The ongoing story of the adventures of my character DarkTwine in AdventureQuest: her quest to become a Power of Evil, and the other quest that surprises her along the way. It all started when she saw Little Death for sale in Valencia's Z-Token Shop...
1. Rising Star of Darkness

**DarkTwine**

Summary: The ongoing story of the adventures of my character DarkTwine in AdventureQuest: her quest to become a Power of Evil, and the other quest that surprises her along the way. It all started when she saw Little Death for sale in Valencia's Z-Token Shop...

Genre: Adventure/Friendship

Rating: G

Chapter 1: Rising Star of Darkness

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter about two years ago and I'm finally posting it! I waited this long because I've had almost no time to play AQ since then and I plan to update this story alongside DarkTwine's adventures as I actually play her! :)

Chapter 2 is already written and I'll be posting it in a few days, followed by more updates anytime I have the chance. That should be reasonably often, at least every few weeks or so, I hope. This fic will probably end up being fairly long, but it should stay fast-paced and exciting throughout! And I guarantee 100% cuteness at all times. ^~^

* * *

"Tendrils of Darkness," DarkTwine said, pointing at the scroll on Warlic's shelf. "I'll take that one."

"Thank you," Warlic said, taking her money and handing over the scroll. "Do you need to buy anything else?"

DarkTwine glanced farther along the shelf at the Shadowbat Swarm scroll marked "Level 25."

"Not yet," she said, and left the shop.

* * *

Fully equipped with her new Skull Sword, Dark Plate, and Shield of Darkness, DarkTwine left Yulgar's Inn and headed into the wilderness around town to battle her first monster. She could hardly wait. All her life she had dreamed of becoming an Evil Power of Darkness, and now that she was finally old enough to adventure, her quest could begin.

It didn't even seem to matter what kind of a monster it was. DarkTwine defeated it easily, even though it hurt her with its own attacks and left her bruised and exhausted by the time the battle ended. Battered yet victorious, DarkTwine made her way back into town.

The little Moglin Twilly was standing next to the tree where the News and Travel Map were posted. "Can I help you?" he asked innocently, sounding concerned. "You look a little beat up."

"Heal me!" DarkTwine demanded imperiously.

"Sure thing!" Twilly said happily. "POOF! There ya go. Moglin magic is great for healing."

DarkTwine smiled a dark and secret smile. _Stupid little Moglin!_ she thought, but she kept the opinion to herself.

* * *

DarkTwine's next adventure took her to the bottom of the ocean. She had met powerful monsters there before, but this encounter was something different. A cluster of little fish with pointy teeth were staring at her as if they thought she would make a good meal.

The fish swam at DarkTwine in a mass of fins, scales, and bubbles. Swarming around her, they nibbled at her fingers, hair, and armor indiscriminately.

"Ouch!" DarkTwine shook her fingers in disbelieving annoyance. "I'll strangle you, you stupid little fish!" She readied her magic and cast her only spell, Tendrils of Darkness.

It didn't seem to matter to them. The fish kept coming even after they had been damaged by her spell. Again, the Piranhas acted as though they were going to nip DarkTwine to death.

"Stupid, brainless little things that think they can defeat me! I'll show them dark magic!" She cast Tendrils of Darkness again, doing even more damage to the fish. _In another couple of attacks..._

Suddenly DarkTwine's world went black. The next thing she knew, she was standing in the middle of Battleon City with everyone acting as though nothing unusual had happened.

_What was that?_ DarkTwine wondered. _It's as though my life shut down for no reason._ DarkTwine shrugged. Dismissing the question, she went off to battle some more monsters.

* * *

_Another Undead Ribber!_ DarkTwine thought. _I really AM special! This makes four so far._ The very first day she went adventuring, DarkTwine had run into two of these creatures, even though no one she knew had encountered even one. It only confirmed her belief that she was destined to become a mighty Power of Evil.

Undead Ribbers were strong at defending against darkness, being partially Dark creatures themselves, but it made no difference. She had defeated them all with her Dark magic and her Dark sword, and this one was no different.

* * *

_Now that I'm Level 10, maybe I can get some more powerful equipment,_ DarkTwine thought, hurrying into Yulgar's shop at the Inn.

"Can I get you anything?" Yulgar asked helpfully. "I have a wide selection of merchandise from all over the world, you know."

DarkTwine eyed Yulgar's small selection of Darkness weapons. _Dark Blade,_ she thought. _Maybe..._ Then she saw the weapon she really wanted. _Vampire Blade! I didn't know I could get that already!_

She pointed out the sword where it was lying across a double hook on Yulgar's wall. "I'll take that one," she said. "Vampire Blade."

"Do you think you can handle it, little lady?" Yulgar asked genially.

"Do you think you can stop me?" DarkTwine slammed her money down on the counter.

Yulgar laughed, thinking it was a joke. He got down the sword and handed it to DarkTwine across the counter. "Be careful with it," he said. "It's pretty dangerous."

DarkTwine ignored him. _Now, let's see how the Stat Trainer likes being attacked with a Vampire Blade!_

* * *

_I wonder what kind of things they have for sale in the Z-Token shop,_ DarkTwine thought. She had heard of Valencia the Rare Item Hunter, who sold all kinds of exciting merchandise from around the world. Now that DarkTwine had battled several more monsters and earned a small collection of Z-Tokens, she was ready to check out the shop and see if there was anything she wanted to buy.

"Oh, hello!" Valencia said with a friendly smile, standing in front of the Inn. "I see you've heard of my Z-Token Shop. Would you like to see what I have for sale?"

"Of course," DarkTwine agreed. _Why would I be here if I didn't, you silly woman?_

"That's great!" Valencia said. "Here's the shop." She pulled aside a bush next to the Inn and revealed an entrance to a hidden set of stairs leading down. "Right this way, please! Don't bump your head."

DarkTwine followed Valencia into the underground shop. Inside, there were rows and rows of shelves piled with weapons, armor, and even a few spell scrolls, plus a lot of things that DarkTwine had never even heard of before.

"What's this?" DarkTwine asked, picking up a red, glowing orb about the size of her two hands.

"That's a Fire Orb," Valencia explained. "It adds attack power to your weapons and magic when you're fighting ice enemies." She smiled again, her eyes twinkling. "For 200 Z-Tokens, you can have it! It's really worth more, but..." She winked.

DarkTwine set the Fire Orb back down on the shelf. "No, thank you," she said. "I don't need it." _200 Z-Tokens! Is everything in this shop so expensive?_

"Well, I'll be around if you need me!" Valencia said. "Feel free to look around as much as you want." She disappeared down one of the aisles.

DarkTwine wandered along, looking at the shelves full of weapons, but saw nothing she was very interested in, and certainly nothing she could afford. Turning a corner, she came to an aisle where the shelves were filled with cages of pets for sale.

_What use do I have for a pet?_ DarkTwine thought. _I can defeat my enemies alone._ Then she came to a cage that did not contain an animal. Instead, it held a little skeleton with black flowing robes, holding a scythe. He looked sad and hurt, floating in the air a little above the floor at the back of his cage.

DarkTwine stopped and looked at the skeleton in surprise. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Death. Can't you do me a favor and get me out of here?" the little Reaper said, floating to the front of his cage.

DarkTwine felt a strange new feeling flooding through her. This little guy was locked up in a cage like he was a pet... For the first time in her life, DarkTwine felt real compassion for another person.

"I'll try," DarkTwine said. "But what can I do?"

"Valencia won't let me out unless you pay for me," Little Death said quietly. "She thinks I must be worth a lot of Z-Tokens because I'm so powerful."

DarkTwine looked at the sign over Little Death's cage. "4000 Z-Tokens? But I only have 25."

Little Death stared at her and nodded sadly in understanding.

"It doesn't matter," DarkTwine said, feeling the same strange compassion that had gripped her heart a few minutes ago. "I'll get you out."

Just then, Valencia came strolling along the aisle. "Find anything you need?" she asked cheerfully.

DarkTwine realized she was making such a tight fist around the Z-Tokens she was holding that they were cutting into her hand. "Not today," she said quickly. Giving Death the strongest and most reassuring glance she could manage, she hurried out of the shop.

* * *

Author's Note: This story will be updated as I play through the adventure. I'm not sure if anyone has ever actually earned 4000 Z-Tokens without paying for them before, but I'm certainly going to try!


	2. A Terrible Setback and a Beautiful Gift

**DarkTwine**

Chapter 2: A Terrible Setback and a Beautiful Gift

* * *

A plague swept the land, killing all but the strongest of adventurers. DarkTwine lay in her bed, feverish and dreaming.

_"This can't be right," a voice said in the darkness. "It looks like I owe __you__ a favor."_

_DarkTwine looked around, thoroughly confused and unsure what she was doing here. But she recognized the voice. "Little Death?" she asked. "What's going on?"_

_"There is a terrible plague in the world of Lore." Little Death's form solidified, becoming visible as if he had floated forward through dark fog._

_Now DarkTwine remembered. "That's right! I'm sick." She thought. "In fact, almost everybody is sick, aren't they?"_

_Little Death nodded. "Yes, for some reason the gods have chosen to attack the people of your world. Almost everyone is dying." He clenched his bone fists, and his eyes were huge and dark in their sockets as he said, "But I can't let you die! It's not just that you said you're going to help me escape from Valencia. You cared about me. I won't let the gods or anyone else kill you after that!"_

_Little Death raised his scythe, and a glowing darkness spread from it, expanding to surround DarkTwine and filling her with a soothing, protective warmth. "You will live," he said, his soft, small voice filled with an awesome power._

_DarkTwine's heart caught strangely in her chest. "Does this mean you're free now? You seem so powerful..."_

_Little Death looked sad, but even more so, he looked quietly triumphant. "No... I'm still a prisoner in Valencia's Z-Token shop. But that doesn't matter too much, because I've been able to save you." He almost looked like he was smiling now, and his voice held a hint of bright laughter as he said, "Now you owe me a REALLY big favor! Make sure you rescue me, okay?"_

_DarkTwine's soul flooded with gratitude, evil though she wanted to be - and usually was. "I will!" she said fiercely, as Little Death's small form vanished into the darkness. Slowly the darkness itself vanished too, and DarkTwine opened her eyes into the light._

"I promise."

A busy, green Moglin nurse, hurrying by with her hands full of bandages and medicine, stopped in her tracks, stood over DarkTwine's bed and looked down at her, blinking her large, dark green eyes in surprise. "Oh dear - you're actually pulling through?" Her voice was surprised, weary, but joyful. "Congratulations, dear! I was sure we'd lost you like all the rest."

DarkTwine pulled herself up to a sitting position and took stock of how she felt. She was extremely weak, but she didn't have a fever and she felt like she would be all right.

"I'm afraid we had to burn all your possessions and dispose of your weapons," the Moglin nurse said. "They were infected with the plague, you see."

DarkTwine looked down at herself and saw that the Moglin was right: she was wearing a plain dress that the Moglins must have given her, and there was no sign of her backpack, her beloved Dark sword, even her spellbook. But she was alive, and that was enough of a gift.

She looked around. Her bed was inside a thatched-roof hut that was obviously part of the Moglin village. Outside the open door, the bright bushes and sunny weather confirmed it.

"Well," the nurse said, "if you're feeling better I have to be off and check on my other patients. Even some of the stronger ones are having a tough time of it."

"Whatever," DarkTwine said, becoming irritated with the little Moglin's cheerfulness as she started to feel more like her old self. "I'm leaving." She swung her legs out of bed, much to the alarm of the little nurse, and stood up. Immediately she was surprised at just how weak she felt.

"You ought to be careful!" the nurse exclaimed. "If you're really leaving already, you'd better watch yourself. I don't think you're any stronger than you were when you started adventuring."

_The Moglin's right,_ DarkTwine realized ruefully. She headed out the door. _I'd better take the direct route back to Battleon City. It won't do to meet any monsters when I'm this weak and don't even have a weapon. I have to get to the shops!_

She reached into a pouch at the waist of her dress and found a small amount of gold, enough to equip her with basic items and spells to start over. Heading for the woodland path between the Moglin Village and Battleon, she stopped short. Her precious Z-Tokens, carefully hoarded for Little Death's ransom in a pocket of her old, burned-by-Moglins clothing, were also gone.

_Little Death!_ she thought. _Oh, no! Now you'll have to wait even longer._ She hurried for the path, determined to re-equip herself and kill enough monsters to get a lot of new Z-Tokens right away.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter was inspired by my discovery, when I logged onto AdventureQuest after a while's absence, that three of my four characters, including DarkTwine, had been deleted for being too low a level. Being the person I am, I couldn't help making that setback part of the story. Watch for Chapter 3, when DarkTwine starts over from Level 0 to spread her evil influence over the world - and save a dear new friend.


End file.
